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LIFE 


OF  THE 


CELEBRATED  BEARDED  LADY, 


MADAME  CLOFULLIA 


AND  HER  INFANT 


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NEW  YORK: 

COURRIER  DES  fiTATS-UNIS,  POWER  PRESSES, 
73  Franklin  Street, 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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ttps://archive.org/details/lifeofcelebrated01  unse 


BIOGRAPHY 


OF  THE  CELEBRATED 

BEARDED  LADY, 

MADAME  CLOFULLIA 

AND  HER  INFANT 


Beyond  doubt,  the  persons  who  will  read  this  pamphlet 
have  already  acquired  a  knowledge,  partial  or  otherwise,  of  its 
subject  matter.  The  numerous  enquiries  and  questions  however 
which  have  been  so  frequently  made  and  put,  have  at  length 
induced  her  to  give  a  narrative  of  her  life  and  its  principal  and 
most  important  events  up  to  this  day.  The  circumstances 
which  induced  her  to  leave  her  native  place,  the  most  remark¬ 
able  objects  seen  in  the  principal  cities  visited,  and  the  opinions 
of  the  most  eminent  physicians  and  members  of  the  medical 
faculty  of  France,  England  and  the  United  States,  are  re¬ 
lated  in  detail.  The  unanimous  conclusion  of  those  distinguished 
men  attest,  that  they  never  yet  saw  or  had  a  knowledge  of  so 
astonishing  and  curious  a  subject  as  Madame  Clofullia  and  her 


—  4 


child.  Women  have  been  seen  with  a  slight  moustach  and  a 
little  beard  on  the  chin ;  there  have  been  male  and  female 
giants,  fat  men  and  women,  male  and  female  dwarfs,  but  never 
as  yet  has  a  female  been  seen  or  heard  of  with  a  beard  so  full 
and  strong  and  so  well  made  as  the  subject  of  this  Biography 
and  her  child. 

Madame  Clofullia,  the  bearded  lady,  was  born  the  25th  of 
March,  1829,  in  a  small  village  called  Yersoix,  about  five  miles 
distant  from  Geneva,  in  Switzerland,  on  the  shores  of  lake 
Leman  or  lake  of  Geneva,  principal  city  of  the  canton  which 
bears  its  name. 

The  house  in  which  she  was  born  is  erected  in  one  of  the 
finest  situations  of  the  village.  Its  principal  facade  commands 
the  high  road  to  Lausanne.  Another  looks  upon  a  lovely  gar¬ 
den,  and  the  third  has  a  full  view  of  the  lake,  the  waters  of 
which  break  at  the  foot  of  the  house.  But,  it  is  especially 
about  the  festival  day  of  the  patriarch  of  the  country,  which 
occurs  on  the  first  Sunday  in  August,  that  the  coup  (Vocil  is 
most  enchanting.  The  traveller  who  should  chance  to  look  out 
of  one  of  the  windows  of  this  house,  on  the  side  facing  the  lake, 
would  fancy  himself  dreaming,  so  magnificent  is  the  prospect 
before  him.  The  incessant  passage  of  gondolas,  built  like  those 
of  Venice,  t  he  numberless  quantity  of  boats  of  an  oriental  shape 
or  bearing  the  stamp  of  all  countries  ;  these,  for  the  greatest 
part,  are  gilt  and  embellished  with  decorations,  ribbons,  ban¬ 
ners,  and  flags,  floating  to  the  breeze  and  proudly  bearing  the 
escutcheon  and  the  arms  of  the  different  nations  they  represent. 

On  this  remarkable  day  are  to  be  seen  the  young  men  and 
the  young  and  fairer  sex  of  the  country,  with  the  splendid 
and  picturesque  costume  of  Switzerland,  arriving  from  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  fifty  leagues  round.  The  lake  now  offers  a  magnificent 


—  5  — 


Tiew — an  artificial  fort  bas  been  built,  to  which  all  the  boats, 
at  a  given  signal,  are  directed,  a  naval  fight  performed,  and 
prizes  distributed  to  the  conqueror,  who  is  carried  home  in  tri¬ 
umph  amidst  general  hurras  and  accompanied  by  various  bands 
of  musicians. 

Joseph  Boisdechene,  father  of  Madame  Fortune  Clofullia 
(the  bearded  lady),  was  born  in  Geneva,  a  canton  of  the  Hel¬ 
vetian  Republic,  in  the  year  1800.  Geneva  is  the  native  land  of 
William  Tell,  the  liberator  of  Switzerland.  It  obtained  its 
independence  in  the  year  1319. 

It  lies  between  the  3°  35’  and  8°  4’  longitude ;  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  on  the  west  by 
France,  on  the  south  by  Savoy  and  Piedmont,  and  on  the  east 
by  the  Lombardo-Venetian  Kingdom  and  Tyrol.  Its  greatest 
length  is  260  miles  and  in  width  200  miles,  it  contains  9790 
square  miles,  and  its  population  is  2,400,000. 

Switzerland,  under  the  name  of  the  Helvetian  Confedera¬ 
tion,  is  divided  with  22  Cantons  or  states.  Subject  to  a  diversity 
of  climates,  it  thus  produces  a  variety  of  productions.  The  ce¬ 
real  products,  fruits,  wine,  pastures,  medicinal  plants,  timber,  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  its  territory.  The  finest  cattle  abounds,  and 
butter  and  cheese  are  among  the  principal  of  its  exports.  Rich 
mineral  mines  are  also  found  and  the  manufacturing  interests 
are  in  an  advanced  state.  It  consists  mostly  of  silks,  mus¬ 
lins,  cotton  goods,  velvets,  clothes,  laces,  linens,  calicos,  gloves, 
gunnery,  watches  and  watch  material,  jewelry.  A  large  busi¬ 
ness  is  carried  on  in  these  articles,  with  the  United  States,  as 
also  in  leather,  absinthe,  &c.  The  cantons  are  each  of  them 
a  sovereign  State,  though  united  together  by  a  federal  compact. 
An  annual  diet  makes  the  laws,  and  meets  successively  at  Berne, 
Fribourg,  Soleure,  Bale,  Lucerne  and  Zurich.  The  military 


—  6 


force  of  the  country,  not  including  the  militia,  amounts  to 
30,000  men. 

The  parents  of  Joseph  Boisdechene,  though  not  rich, 
were  in  easy  circumstances  of  life.  He  received  a  liberal  edu¬ 
cation,  but  was  brought  up  to  no  trade ;  at  the  age  of  twenty 
he  was  obliged  to  enter  the  service  and  defense  of  his  country, 
as  the  laws  of  its  constitution  enforce  a  service  of  six  years  to 
each  of  its  citizens,  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  twenty-six.  This 
service  is  divided  into  two  bodies  of  militia;  the  one  a  marching 
troop,  the  other  for  the  home  service  or  as  a  reserve.  Mr.  Bois¬ 
dechene  enlisted  in  the  marching  ranks,  and  during  his  service 
of  six  years  showed  a  most  exemplary  conduct,  and  deserved  and 
met  with  the  esteem  of  his  superiors,  and,  on  his  return  home, 
with  the  rank  of  sergeant-major.  The  colonel  of  the  Gen¬ 
darmerie  of  Geneva  now  offered  Mr.  Boisdechene  to  take  ser¬ 
vice  in  his  corps  ;  this  offer  was  accepted,  and  shortly  after¬ 
wards  Mr.  B.  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier.  It  was 
while  being  on  a  detachment,  at  Yersoix,  that  Mr.  B.  became 
acquainted  with  Mile  Fran^oise  Masset,  the  only  daughter  of 
a  rich  agricplturist. 

Mr.  Masset  was  born  at  Ambrieux,  a  small  town  of  the 
department, of  Ain,  in  France.  He  was  short  of  stature,  but 
of  fine  constitution,  and  gifted  with  Herculean  strength  ;  his 
features  masculine  and  strongly  characterized,  and  his  face 
and  body  covered  with  hair  ;  his  beard,  however,  made  its  ap¬ 
pearance  only  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  nature.  The 
only  extraordinary  feature  of  his  wife  was  that  of  a  delicate 
constitution.  Their  union  gave  them  but  this  one  daughter, 
who,  from  her  infancy,  showed  promises  of  great  accomplish¬ 
ment.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  she  was  sent  to  one  of  the  best 
boarding  shools  of  Geneva,  where  she  made  strong  and  rapid 


progress,  stood  always  at  the  head  of  her  competitors,  and  ex¬ 
celled  particularly  in  those  works  adapted  to  her  sex.  At 
eighteen  years  of  age,  her  education  being  finished,  she  re¬ 
turned  home  to  her  parents,  accomplished  in  body  as  in  mind. 
Her  character  was  remarkably  sweet  and  sensitive,  her  stature 
rather  middling,  the  breast  full  and  well  developed  ;  her  fea¬ 
tures  delicate  and  regular,  and  on  her  countenance  could  be 
read  the  mildness  of  her  character.  She  necessarily  was  the 
joy  and  happiness  of  her  parents,  who  failed  not  to  idolize  her. 
Thus  a  year  passed  on  in  happiness  and  love.  At  its  expira¬ 
tion  Mr.  Boisdechene  arrived  with  his  detachment  at  Yersoix, 
was  introduced  to  Miss  Masset,  and  judging  the  good  qualities 
of  the  young  lady,  became  a  constant  visitor,  declared  his  af¬ 
fections,  and  they  were  reciprocated ;  asked  her  from  her 
parents,  and  both  families  having  mutually  agreed  to  the  match, 
they  were  soon  married.  Mr.  B.  though  not  a  handsome  man, 
was  of  middle  size,  of  a  lively  and  pleasing  countenance,  frank 
of  character,  pleasant  and  lively  of  disposition,  and  had  little 
beard. 

The  duties  of  his  rank  often  called  him  away  from  his  young 
wife.  This  caused  him  to  offer  his  demission,  which  was  ac¬ 
cepted  ;  lifesetried  at  home,  and  busied  himself  in  agriculture. 
Eleven  months  after  their  union,  Mr.  B.  was  blessed  with  a  fe¬ 
male  infant, '  called  Josephine.  This  was  anew  joy  for  the 
parents,  but  they  soon  perceived  that  their  child  had  the  body 
and  face  covered  with  a  slight  down.  Through  their  anxiety 
they  consulted  their  family  doctor,  who,  after  strict  examina¬ 
tion,  tranquilized  them  with  the  certainty  that  this  down  would 
fall  at  the  expiration  of  some  weeks.  Weeks  and  months 
passed  in  this  hope,  and  the  down  grew  to  hair.  The  physician 
was  once  more  called  in,  and  confessed  that  the  case  was  of  too 


—  8  — 


extraordinary  a  nature  to  pass  judgment  by  himself,  and  re¬ 
ferred  the  parents  to  the  most  eminent  of  the  faculty  at  Geneva. 
These  gentlemen,  after  a  most  strict  examination  of  the  child, 
unanimously  concluded  that  the  case,  being  without  a  prece¬ 
dent,  it.  would  be  necessary  to  await  the  seventh  or  eighth 
birthday  of  the  child  before  they  could  form  any  opinion. 

Josephine  grew  up,  and  at  eight  years  of  age  this  down 
grew  to  a  beard  of  fully  two  inches  in  length.  The  faculty 
was  once  more  called  in,  and  declared  it  to  be  a  beard ,  and  ad¬ 
vised  the  parents  not  to  shave  the  child  or  cut  her  beard,  said 
beard  being  extraordinary  thick,  or,  otherwise,  it  would  grow 
in  length  and  hardness.  This  advice  was  strictly  followed,  and 
to  its  observance  may  be  owing  the  softness  and  silkiness  of 
Josephine’s  beard.  During  the  interval  of  eight  years  Miss 
Boisdechene  gave  birth  to  two  daugf$ .  ^rs  and  one  son.  The 
daughters  are  high  of  stature,  and  haveno  other  remarkable 
peculiarity  ;  the  son  is  of  a  weak  constitution,  of  a  feminine 
appearance,  resembles  greatly  his  mother,  and  now,  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  shows  no  appearance  of  beard. 

We  shall  now  return  to  Mile  Josephine,  the  l'  yd&d  lady. 
At  eight  years  of  age  she  was  sent  to  Geneva  ‘he  same 
boarding  school  at  which  her  mother  had  been  educated.  Her 
progress  was  rapid  and  crowned  with  success,  and  n;  e 
particularly  in  those  works  adapted  toiler  sew  -  1  U  as  em¬ 
broideries,  lace,  network,  and  all  kinds  of  needle-wont!,  and 
thus  grew  up  to  the  age  of  fourteen.  At  this  period,  Mrs.  Bois¬ 
dechene  gave  birth  to  a  fifth  child — a  daughter — whose  weak 
constitution  soon  brought  her  to  the  grave.  This  loss  so  af¬ 
fected  the  mother  that  after  a  short  illness  she  followed  her 
baby.  Under  this  afflicting  loss  Mr.  Boisdechene  withdrew  his 
daughter  from  the  boarding  school ;  both  were  for  a  length  of 


. 


r 


—  9  — 


time  inconsolable.  The  wife  and  mother  was  well  known  in 
the  village,  where  her  memory  is  still  held  sacred.  To  Miss 
Josephine’s  youthful  hands  fell  the  house-keeping  department, 
as  also  the  care  of  her  younger  sisters  and  brother.  At  this 
early  age  of  fourteen  her  beard  had  attained  its  actual  growth 
of  about  five  inches,  but  of  a  light  shade  ;  it  is  but  from  this 
moment  that  its  color  began  to  change. 

This  celebrated  lady  is  rather  of  a  middling  stature,  has  a 
striking  resemblance  to  her  grandfather  ;  from  her  mother  she 
has  but  the  hair,  which  is  long,  silky,  and  of  a  dark  brown  ; 
the  breast  full  and  finely  developed  :  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
her  neighbors,  accustomed  to  see  her  daily,  paid  little  or  no  at¬ 
tention  to  this  strange  freak  of  nature. 

The  hotel  of  the  Lake,  the  handsomest  at  Versoix,  faces 
the  house  in  which  the  bearded  lady  was  born.  This  fashionable 
hotel  is  always  filled  with  travellers,  more  particularly  in  the 
warmer  seasons  of  the  year  ;  none  who  have  visited  Switzer¬ 
land  can  deny  it  is  one  of  Europe’s  most  curious  and  varied 
sceneries.  The  traveller  will  remark  on  the  shores  of  lake  Le¬ 
man  numerous  villages  and  magnificent  villas,  and  on  the  left 
shore,  where  is  seen  Mr.  Boisdechene’s  house,  his  sight  will 
repose  on  rich  green  fields,  immense  and  rich  crops,  and  num¬ 
berless  chalets  or  cottages,  of  that  light  and  picturesque  structure 
nowhere  else  to  be  met  with  but  in  Switzerland  ;  let  him  ad¬ 
vance  further,  Mont  Blanc,  and  Mont  Saleve,  the  Alps,  and  all 
their  varied  sceneries  and  wonders  will  stare  him  in  the  face 
and  astonish  him  at  each  step. 

At  repeated  times,  travellers  stopping  at  the  hotel  du  Lac 
remarked  this  bearded  young  lady  :  surprised  at  such  a  singu¬ 
larity  of  nature,  they  could  not  abstain  from  showing  their  as¬ 
tonishment,  as  also  the  wish  of  having  a  closer  view  of  her. 


—  10  — 


The  daughters  of  the  house  had  been  at  the  same  boarding 
school  with  Miss  Boisdechene,  were  intimately  acquainted  with 
her,  and  through  this  friendly  acquaintance  had  a  full  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  seeing  her.  She  was  advised  to  travel  and  appear  in 
public,  and  that  she  would  be  sure  of  a  goodly  success.  Seve¬ 
ral  directors  of  theatres,  hearing  of  this  curious  phenomenon, 
visited  the  place  and  offered  engagements,  which  were  always 
refused. 

It  was  only  in  1849  that  a  manager  of  one  of  the  city  of 
Lyons  theatres  offered  such  an  advantageous  engagement  to  Mr. 
Boisdechene,  for  the  term  of  one  year,  that  he  at  last  yielded, 
put  his  children  to  boarding  schools,  and  leased  his  house  and 
farms.  Miss  Boisdechene  left  in  company  with  her  father,  and 
made  her  debut  at  Geneva  (the  birthplace  of  the  celebrated 
Jean  Jacques  Rousseau),  one  of  the  largest  and  handsomest 
cities  of  Switzerland.  The  streets  are  generally  two  miles  in 
length.  Her  commerce  is  considerable  and  has  the  most 
renowned  factories  of  watches,  watch  materials,  jewelry,  mathe¬ 
matical  and  surgical  instruments,  muslins,  silks,  laces  and  rib¬ 
bons.  Among  the  splendid  edifices  is  the  Court  House,  the 
Arsenal,  Cathedral,  Hospitals  and  Theatre.  Geneva  has  also 
a  celebrated  College,  a  rich  Cabinet  of  Natural  History,  a  Gal¬ 
lery  of  Painting  and  a  Botanic  Garden  for  purposes  of  human 
instruction.  The  arts  and  sciences  are  in  a  flourishing  con¬ 
dition. 

It  is  the  native  land  ol  numbers  of  celebrated  men  :  Calvin, 
.1.  .1.  Rousseau,  Bonnet,  Tronchin,  Petitot,  De  Saussure, 
Ncckcr.  D’Aubigne,  the  celebrated  author  of  the  Reformation 
first  saw  light  in  Switzerland.  In  this  city  Miss  Josephine  had 
an  immense  success.  It  was  its  faculty  of  learned  and  profes¬ 
sional  men  who  had  seen  her  in  her  earlier  days,  and  had  al- 


—  11  — 


ready  spread  that  fame  which  was  soon  to  be  attached  to  her 
future  movements 

Thence  she  travelled  to  Lyons,  which  is  boasting  of  being  the 
second  city  of  F  ranee.  Lyons  is  the  native  city  of  the  famous 
Jacquart,  the  inventor  of  designs  for  woven  goods,  which  is  also 
necessary  to  the  fabrication  of  silks  and  ribbons.  They  are 
favorably  known  throughout  the  world.  From  thence  she 
went  to  Saint  Etienne  in  F orez,  celebrated  for  its  Arsenal  and 
the  perfection  it  has  reached  in  the  manufacture  of  ribbons, 
jewelry,  &c.  She  then  proceeded  to  Valence,  Grenoble,  Ro¬ 
man,  Vienne,  Montelimart;  she  left  Dauphiny  for  Languedoc, 
Nismes.  Nismes  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  France, 
and  possesses  more  monuments  and  Roman  Antiquities  than 
any  other  city.  In  this  city  Miss  Josephine  and  her  father 
visited  all  the  celebrated  objects,  the  Arena  or  Amphitheatre. 
This  was  the  ancient  Amphitheatre  of  the  times  of  the  Romans, 
when  the  criminals  condemned  to  death,  were  thrown  to  be 
devoured  by  the  wild  beasts  who  were  let  loose  upon  them,  in 
the  presence  of  the  judges  and  the  people. 

Diana’s  Temple  and  the  Fountain  which  is  the  most 
beautiful  and  wonderful  in  the  world.  Near  the  city  you  per¬ 
ceive  the  acqueduct  elevated  above  the  river.  Miss  Jose¬ 
phine  had  an  extraordinary  success  in  this  city.  On  leaving 
this  city  she  went  to  Montpellier  where  she  was  visited  by  the 
Medical  Faculty,  which  is  the  most  celebrated  in  the  world  ; 
she  then  left  Montpellier  for  Narbonnc,  Carcassonne  and  Tou¬ 
louse.  Here  she  visited  the  capitol,  the  former  residence  of 
the  Roman  chief.  From  thence  she  proceeded  to  Montauban, 
Yerigueux,  Libourne  and  Bordeaux,  one  of  the  handsomest 
cities  of  France,  celebrated  for  its  exportation  of  wines  and  li¬ 
quors.  Her  bay  is  large  and  beautiful,  capable  of  containing 


♦ 


*r 


.y 


Arts  and  Trades,  of  the  city  of  Troyes.  These  two  young 
people  (during  Mr.  B.’s  stay  of  three  months  at  Troyes),  soon 
took  towards  each  other  a  feeling  of  friendship,  which  soon 
grew  into  a  warmer  passion.  Mr.  Clofullia  asked  her  hand, 
and  his  offer  was  accepted  ;  as  his  character  had  been  duly  ap¬ 
preciated,  they  were  soon  united.  Madame  Clofullia,  her  hus¬ 
band  and  father  then  left  Troyes  for  Paris,  the  capital  of 
France.  Here  the  Medical  Faculty  hastened  to  visit  this  ex¬ 
traordinary  phenomenon,  and  all  pgreed  that  it  was  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  freaks  of  nature.  The  most  eminent  personages 
visited  her.  The  Prince-President  Louis  Napoleon,  now  Em- 
peror  of  France,  caused  her  to  be  summoned  to  the  palace  of 
the  Tuileries,  where  she  received  the  most  princely  gifts. 
This  city  is  celebrated  for  its  curiosities,  its  stately  and 
magnificent  edifices,  its  elegant  promenades  of  which  however, 
our  limited  space,  will  not  permit  an  extended  notice. 

Madame  Clofullia  here  remained  several  months,  where 
crowds  of  people  flocked  to  see  her.  They  went  occasionally 
to  Versailles,  the  former  residence  of  the  kings  of  France.  All 
strangers  visiting  France  never  neglect  to  pass  through  it,  to 
see  its  noble  avenues.  The  royal  chateau  containing  the  most 
extensive  and  valuable  Gallery  of  Paintings  representing  the 
victories  and  conquests  of  the  empire.  Pictures  by  the  old 
masters  grace  its  walls.  The  royal  gardens  are  ornamented  by 
fountains  and  jets  d'eaux,  representing  scenes  from  mytholo¬ 
gical  history,  and  which  are  the  theme  of  admiration.  There 
is  also  an  extensive  Park  more  than  25  miles  long,  in  which 
the  royal  chases  take  place.  It  is  ornamented  with  marble 
statues  representing  the  ancient  Gods  and  Goddess  of  pagan  his¬ 
tory.  In  this  city,  the  faculty  flew  to  see  this  curious  and  most 
extraordinary  phenomenon,  and  one  and  all  attested,  that  she 


—  14  — 


was  the  greatest  and  most  wonderful  of  nature’s  singularities. 
After  this  declaration  of  the  profession,  and  the  run  of  the  most 
eminent  personages  of  this  capital,  who  honored  her  with  their 
visits,  the  Prince-President  made  known  his  desire  to  see  the 
Bearded  Lady,  to  which  she  acquiesced,  and  on  her  leaving, 
was  presented  some  most  princely  gifts. 

At  the  instigation  of  several  English  families,  with  whom r 
in  the  course  of  her  travels,  Mrs.  Clofullia  had  been  made  ac¬ 
quainted,  and  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Great  Universal 
Exposition  of  London  being  close  at  hand,  the  Bearded  Lady 
directed  her  visit  towards  the  English  capital,  was  presented  to 
the  medical  faculty  at  Charing  Cross,  where  had  assembled 
the  most  eminent  of  London's  physicians  and  surgeons,  under 
the  presidency  of  Chowne. 

“  I  have  this  day  seen,  professionally,  Josephine  Boisde- 
chene,  and,  in  relation  to  the  legal  question  refered  to  me, 
hereby  certify,  that  although  she  has  beard  and  whiskers,  large, 
profuse,  and  strictly  masculine,  on  those  parts  of  the  face  (the 
upper  lip  excepted)  occupied  by  the  beard  and  whiskers  in 
men,  and,  although  on  her  limbs  and  back,  she  has  even  more 
hair  than  is  usually  found  on  men,  she  is  without  malformation. 
H  er  breasts  are  large  and  fair,  and  strictly  characteristic  of 
the  female. 

“  W.  D.  CHOWNE,  M.  D. 

“  Charing  Cross  Hasp  Hal,  Sept.  22,  1851.  ” 

Also  the  report  in  the  Lancet,  No.  18,  of  Saturday,  1st  of 
May,  1852,  and  page  421  ;  this  document  is  now  to  be  seen  in 
the  halls  of  the  Exhibition  Rooms. 

For  a  length  of  time,  Mrs.  Clofullia  was  to  be  seen  at  the 
Linwood  Gallery,  in  Leicester  Square,  then  at  Oxford  St.  and 


—  15 


the  Strand  :  she  was  visited  by  upwards  of  800,000  persons, 
and  patronized  by  all  the  dignitaries  of  this  immense  city.  Mrs. 
Clofullia,  now  at  the  end  of  nine  months  of  happy  marriage, 

gave  birth  to  a  daughter  (called  Zelea)  at  White  Chapel  Road, 

* 

on  the  26th  Dec.,  1851,  and  was  attended  by  H.  T.  Cornelius, 
Esq.,  Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of  London. 
Her  child  Mrs.  Clofullia  insisted  on  nursing  ;  this  infant,  after 
two  or  three  months,  grew  to  be  so  really  handsome  that  she 
was  admired  by  every  one.  She  was  a  strict  contrast  to  her 
mother  and  showed  no  symptoms  of  beard.  She  was  the  pet 
of  the  ladies  who  crowded  to  see  her.  Though  a  nurse,  Mrs. 
Clofullia  became,  at  the  expiration  of  four  months,  once  more 
in  an  interesting  situation  ;  the  daughter  was  weaned  ;  she  was 
strong  and  healthy.  At  eleven  months  she  began  to  walk  and 
prattle,  but  the  teething  came  on  so  strong,  though  late,  that 
the  child  succumbed  in  spite  of  the  skill  of  London’s  eminent 
practitioners. 

“  I  hereby  affirm,  that  Mad.  Fortune  Clofullia  (born  Jose¬ 
phine  Boisdechene),  a  Swiss  lady,  was  attended  in  her  confine¬ 
ment  and  safely  delivered,  by  me,  of  a  female  child,  at  half 
past  three  o’clock  in  the  morning,  on  the  26th  of  December, 
1851,  perfect  in  every  respect. 

“  I  consider  the  mother  one  of  the  most  remarkable  freaks 
of  nature  ever  witnessed.  She  has  abundant  beard  and  whisk¬ 
ers  ;  the  descriptions  of  her,  as  shown  by  the  public  prints,  are 
strictly  correct. 

“  HENRY  THOMAS  CORNELIUS,  M.  R.  C.  S.  Eng., 
“71  High  Street ,  Whitechapel,  London.  ” 

Six  weeks  after  the  death  of  this  first  child,  Mrs.  C.  gave 
birth  to  a  boy  called  Albert.  This  extraordinary  child  was 


16  — 


born  at  Drury  Lane,  on  the  28th  Dec.,  1852.  In  this  second 
case  Mrs.  Clofullia  was  attended  by  Messrs.  Dean-  and  Evans, 
of  Oxford  Street,  whose  certificate  follows  : — 

“We,  the  undersigned,  do  hereby  declare  that  we  were 
called  upon,  on  the  28th  of  December,  1852,  to  attend  Madame 
Fortune  (the  extraordinary  whiskered  lady),  at  her  accouche¬ 
ment,  and  delivered  her  at  10  o’clock  of  the  same  day  of  a 
very  fine  nine  months’  male  child.  We  can  further  add,  that 
we  consider  Mine  Fortune  as  one  of  the  most  strange  produc¬ 
tions  of  the  human  female  we  ever  beheld. 

“  C.  H.  DEAN, 

“  Surgeon,  435  Oxford  Street. 

“  J.  B.  EVANS, 

“  Surgeon,  435  Oxford  Street. 

“  London,  January  6,  1853.” 

This  child  was  also  nursed  by  his  mother,  but  soon  after 
his  birth  the  parents  remarked  that  both  his  face  and  body 
were  covered  with  soft  light  hair.  He  was  shown  to  several 
physicians  in  London,  who  declared  that  he  would  turn  out  as 
decided  a  singularity  and  freak  of  nature  as  his  mother. 

After  remaining  two  years  in  the  british  capital,  Madame 
Clofullia  left  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  principal  cities  of 
the  Kingdom.  She  went  to  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Birming¬ 
ham,  Nottingham,  Leeds,  Leicester,  Sheffield.  She  then  re¬ 
turned  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  being  confined  of  her  se¬ 
cond  child  as  above  stated. 

In  the  middle  of  March,  1853,  there  arrived  in  London  an 
American,  who  offered  to  Mrs.  Clofullia  a  very  advantageous 
offer  to  travel  through  the  United  States  ;  this  she  accepted, 


m. 


j 


^MADAME  CL0FULL1A  AND  HUSBAND. 


—  17  — 


and  the  family  consequently  embarked  at  Liverpool,  on  board 
the  steamer  City  of  Manchester,  and  safely  arrived  at  Phila¬ 
delphia,  and  from  thence  came  to  New  York.  Here  Mrs.  Clo- 
fullia  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Barnum’s  American  Museum. 
She  had  never  seen  Mr.  Barnum  previously,  but  his  fame  is  so 
wide  and  far-spread  that  she  had  already  heard  him  spoken  of 
both  in  France  and  in  England.  A  meeting  of  several  emi¬ 
nent  doctors  of  this  city  was  equally  called  ;  they  also  declared 
Mrs.  Clofullia  to  be  an  astonishing  phenomenon  (see  their  cer¬ 
tificate).  Mr.  Barnum,  who  never  shrinks  before  any  sacrifice 
to  please  the  public,  proposed  an  advantageous  offer,  which 
Mrs.  Clofullia  closed  with,  and  since  then  she  is  daily  visited 
by  thousands. 

This  new  engagement  preventing  her  from  attending  to 
her  child,  Albert,  who  is  too  young  an  infant  to  support  the  in¬ 
conveniences  of  a  public  visit,  Mrs.  Clofullia  has  been  under 
the  necessity  of  sending  him  out  to  nurse,  at  Worcester,  Mass. 
Some  short  time  ago,  however,  and  during  a  few  weeks,  the 
child  was  in  this  city,  where  he  was  seen  for  some  hours  at  the 
Museum.  His  body  is  thoroughly  covered  with  hair,  more 
particularly  over  the  shoulders  and  on  the  back  ;  his  face  is 
fully  surrounded  with  whiskers,  fully  marked,  and  of  about 
half  an  inch  in  length,  but  of  a  light  color.  The  child  is  strong 
and  healthy,  and  promises  fair  to  astonish  the  reader. 

All  the  persons  who  visited  him  thereupon  unanimously 
named  him  “  Esau  ”. 

Madame  Clofullia,  after  a  stay  of  nine  months  at  Barnum’s 
Museum,  concluded  her  engagement  with  M.  Barnum,  and 
contracted  a  new  engagement  with  Col.  J.  H.  Wood,  the  pro¬ 
prietor  of  Wood’s  Museum,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  accompany  him 
through  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union,  prior  to  his  departure 


—  18  — 


for  Europe.  She  successively  visited  Philadelphia,  Wilming¬ 
ton  (Del.),  Baltimore,  Pittsburg,  Wheeling,  Zanesville,  New¬ 
ark,  Circleville,  Columbus  (Ohio),  Dayton,  Hamilton  and  Cin¬ 
cinnati.  In  all  the  places  visited  by  her  in  the  United  States, 
she  has  met  with  the  patronage  and  favor  of  the  American 
people,  and  she  has  found  them  all  that  she  could  desire  and 
everything  to  praise. 

The  infant  Esau  is  now  2  1/2  years  old,  his  first  appea¬ 
rance  in  public,  took  place  in  Havana,  (Island  of  Cuba)  the  21st 
of  December,  1854,  the  crowds  attracted  by  his  loveliness,  and 
extraordinary  appearance,  were  immense.  His  Body  is  entirely 
covered  with  thick  black  hair,  his  Face  is  encircled  with  whiskers, 
one  inch  in  length,  the  hair  on  his  head  is  exceedingly  luxuriant, 
considering  his  age,  his  temper  is  very  mild  and  amiable,  but 
as  quick  as  that  of  other  children  of  his  sex,  his  resemblance 
to  his  mother  is  striking,  but  he  is  expected  to  have  more  beard 
than  her.  It  is  a  curiosity  unparallelled  in  the  world,  since 
Esau,  the  son  of  Isaac,  the  ancient  Patriarch  of  the  Holy  Scrip¬ 
tures. 

Should  this  biography  fall  into  the  hands  of  any  incre¬ 
dulous  person,  let  him  call  at  the  place  of  Exhibition,  where 
the  Bearded  Lady  will  be  most  happy  to  see  him,  and  where, 
for  a  trifle,  he  may  purchase  these  lines,  read  them  over  at  his 
leisure,  and  satisfy  himself  of  the  correctness  of  the  Bearded 
v  v  Lady’s  statements. 

\ 

\ 

2 


/ 


—  19  — 


The  following  extract,  from  the  New  York  Tribune,  of  the 
2d  July,  1853,  will  be  interesting  in  this  context : 

A  Kich  Scene  at  the  Tombs.  —  Mr.  Barnum  and  the  Bearded  Lady  — 
No  Humbug.  —  A  rich  scene  was  enacted  yesterday  afternoon  at  the  Halls  of 
Justice,  alias  the  Tombs,  in  consequence  of  the  appearance  there  of  the  noted 
Bearded  Lady,  now  exhibiting  at  the  American  Museum,  accompanied  by  her 
husband,  Mr.  Barnum,  and  other  notables.  The  object  of  their  visit  to  that 
well  known  institution,  was  to  answer  a  complaint  made  before  Justice  Bo¬ 
gart,  by  one  Wm.  Chaar,  who  having  visited  the  Museum  at  a  cost  to  himself 
of  twenty-five  cents,  and  viewed  the  lady  in  question,  had  come  to  the  con¬ 
clusion  that  he  had  been  “  humbugged  ”  out  of  his  money,  and  that  the  said 
lady  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  dressed  up  man  ;  and,  further  that  she 
and  Mr.  Barnum  were  humbugs,  and  ought  to  be  “  dealt  with  according  to 
law.”  The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  affidavit  : 

“  Wm.  Chaar,  of  253  Hudson  Street,  being  sworn,  says,  that  on  the  1st 
day  of  July,  1853,  deponent  paid  the  sum  of  twenty-five  cents,  at  the  door  of 
the  American  Museum,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  Bearded  Lady,  and  de¬ 
ponent  says,  that  the  person  that  was  pointed  out  to  him  as  the  Bearded  Lady 
is,  in  his  opinion,  a  male,  and  an  impostor  on  the  public  and  deponent  there¬ 
fore  charges  that  the  proprietor  of  the  Museum  has  cheated  and  defrauded 
deponent,  by  false  and  fraudulent  representations,  out  of  the  sum  of  twenty- 
five  cents,  and  prays  that  he  may  be  arrested  and  dealt  with  according  to 
law.” 

Mr.  Barnum,  on  being  informed  that  the  above  complaint  had  been  pre¬ 
ferred,  started  for  the  Tombs,  accompanied  by  the  said  Bearded  Lady  and  also 
by  Capt.  Leonard,  of  the  Second  Ward  Police,  determined  to  prove  that  the 
lady  in  question  was  not  a  man,  and  to  show  the  world  that  he  was  no  hum¬ 
bug.  The  first  evidence  adduced  to  prove  the  falsity  of  the  charge,  was  the 
following  certificate  : 

New  York,  June  ‘loth,  1853. 

Dear  Sir  :  —  You  may  place  the  fullest  reliance  on  the  account  of  a  re¬ 
markable  case  of  hirsute  growth  in  a  female,  published  in  the  London  Lancet 
of  June,  1852,  by  Wm.  D.  Chowne,  M.  D.,  Physician  to  the  Charing  Cross 
Hospital,  &c.  The  detail  of  Dr.  C.  corroborated  the  truth  of  like  statements 
of  other  individuals  relative  to  females  presenting  the  same  phenomena.  Ju¬ 
dicial  science  at  the  present  day,  discards  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  both  sexes- 


>. 


20  — 


in  one  individual.  The  Bearded  Lady,  now  in  this  city,  may  be  cited  in  evi¬ 
dence  of  this  recognised  law,  upon  the  fairest  examination,  and  presents  a 
striking  example  of  organic  development  for  the  instruction  of  the  naturalist. 

(Signed)  VALENTINE  MOTT,  M.  D. 

JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  M.  D. 
ALEX.  B.  MOTT,  M.  D. 


The  following  affidavits  were  also  made  to  sustain  Mr.  Barnum’s  position. 

Clofullia  Fortune,  of  the  Eagle  Hotel,  No.  29  Barclay  Street,  being 
sworn,  says,  that  he  is  the  lawful  husband  of  the  woman  now  on  exhibition  at 
the  American  Museum,  known  as  the  Bearded  W oman  ;  he  further  says,  that 
he  has  beea  married  to  her  for  three  years,  and  that  she  is  the  mother  of  two 
children,  one  of  w'hom  is  now  living. 

Jacques  Boisdechene,  being  duly  sworn,  says,  that  the  person  now  ex¬ 
hibiting  at.  the  American  Museum,  known  as  the  Bearded  Woman,  is  his 
daughter,  and  that  she  is  the  lawful  wife  of  Clofullia  Fortune,  and  that  she  is 
the  mother,  of  two  children,  one  of  whom  is  now  living. 

Phineks  T.  Barnum,  being  sworn,  says,  that  he  at  present  engages  the 
Bearded  Woman  from  Switzerland,  and  who  is  now  exhibiting  at  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Museum,  and  deponent  further  says,  he  pays  a  large  sum  of  money  weekly 
for  her  exhibiting,  and  deponent  says,  from  the  best  of  his  knowledge,  that  the 
said  person  is  a  woman,  and  that  he  had  her  examined  by  Drs.  Valentine 
Mott,  John  W.  Francis,  and  Alexander  B.  Mott,  all  of  whom  certify  that  she 
is  a  woman,  without  any  malformation  whatever,  and  deponent  has  in  his  pos¬ 
session  a  certificate  of  the  said  fact,  signed  by  the  said  eminent  physicians 
aforesaid. 

Dr.  Covil,  of  the  City  Prison,  also  made  an  affidavit,  in  which  he  states, 
that  he,  in  conjunction  with  the  matron,  had  an  interview  with  the  lady  in 
question,  and  both  are  perfectly  convinced,  that  in  spite  of  her  beard,  she  is  a 
woman. 

The  evidence  here  closed,  and  the  magistrate  deeming  that  Mr.  Barnum 
had  clearly  proved  his  innocence  of  the  charge  laid  against  him,  dismissed  the 
complaint,  and  the  parties  interested  forthwith  left  the  court  room  followed  by 
a  large  crowd  of  spectators,  whom  the  novelty  of  the  case  had  collected. 


B  AHNII  M’S  AMERICAN  MUSEUM, 

CORNER  OF  BROADWAY  it  AY V  ST.,  YEW  YORK 


luui.vUtui 

vWWUMI'*! 

SAWt'Wulll 


P.  T.  BARNUM,  Proprietor  JNO.  GREENWOOD,  Jr.,  Manager. 


Madame  Ciofullia,  the  Boarded  Lady,  was  exhibited  at  the  Museum  during  nine 
consecutive  months,  and  during  that  time  she  was  visited  and  seen  by  upwards 
3,500,  COO. 


Date  Due 

* 

! 

Library  Bureau  Cat.  no.  1(3/ 

Photornount 

Pamphlet 

Bind’er 

Gaylord  Bros.,  Inc. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT,  JAM  21,  1S03 


